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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 26 ,2 02 0 | 2 The foundation for a beautiful room. LAMINATE • HARDWOOD • VINYL CORK • CERAMIC • LVT • CARPET LAMINATE • HARDWOOD • VINYL CORK • CERAMIC • LCORK • CERAMIC • LVT • CARPETVT • CARPET LAMINATE • HARDWOOD • VINYLWOOD • VINYL Locally owned & operated by neighbours you've known & trusted for over 45 years! carpetone.com 26 Guelph St, Georgetown • 905-877-9896 It's about trust. Our rela- tionship with our readers is built on transparency, hon- esty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of that project. They say it takes a vil- lage to raise a child, well the same could be said about covering a pandemic. In the span of a matter of days, coronavirus brought many aspects of life in On- tario to a grinding halt: school was suspended, mu- nicipal facilities were shut down, Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emer- gency and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau closed the country's borders. It was a lot and it was happening all at once. As Ontarians were left to reconcile how these de- velopments affected them and their lives, reporters in newsrooms across the province were doing the same while also trying to report on the decisions, provide important context and find answers to the questions many people had. Torstar has 164 commu- nity journalists working in newsrooms across in Onta- rio. From the Ottawa Valley to Kitchener-Waterloo Re- gion, Muskoka down to Ni- agara, and everywhere in between, our journalists cover a lot of ground. Harkening back to the village metaphor, when covering this pandemic our newsrooms came together to ensure we were able to provide strong, quality con- tent that will help to guide our readers through this difficult time by keeping them informed with accu- rate, reliable journalism. As coronavirus made its way to North America, our newsrooms began covering the potential impact it would have on our lives here. Working together - much like we did in the lead up to the 2019 Federal Elec- tion - reporters examined every aspect of the virus and what it means to our readers. And as COVID-19 has reached our communities, with confirmed cases, we continue that coverage with a focus not just on how many cases there are and who has it, but rather by taking a deeper look at the economic and health impli- cations of coronavirus on our communities and how it's impacting our lives and our relationships. We've also been focusing on the good. The people who are helping during these times of uncertainty, the #caremongering crowd who have stepped up to as- sist neighbours and strang- ers, and the front-line workers who are providing essential services to our communities. Collaboration has been key in making this a reality. We've been sharing stories between newsrooms and working together with our sister papers the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator, St. Catharines Standard and other daily publica- tions to ensure there is lit- tle duplication - rather than have multiple reporters working on the same story, by sharing copy we're able to divvy up resources, cov- er more ground and tell more stories. One thing is for certain, there is no 'business as usu- al' happening anywhere in the province at the moment and that is especially true in our newsrooms. Our newspapers are now being assigned, edited and slotted not in the traditional bricks and mortar newsrooms we're all used to working from, but instead from the work-from-home stations reporters and editors have set up in their kitchens, liv- ing rooms and, for some I'm sure, bedrooms and base- ments. Our industry, like many others, has seen significant disruption to how it oper- ates but that hasn't stopped us from publishing the news. We are committed to keeping our readers in- formed, even as we navi- gate through these chal- lenges ourselves. Remember, news is available at your fingertips online -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust com- mittee at trust@metro- land.com. Melinda Cheevers is managing editor of Niaga- ra this Week. OPINION BEHIND THE COVERAGE: HOW WE ARE COVERING COVID-19 COLLABORATION HAS BEEN KEY TO COMPREHENSIVE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE, WRITES MELINDA CHEEVERS MELINDA CHEEVERS Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA